America’s Long History of Failure in The Middle East
The recent barbarous acts committed by Hamas have demonstrated once again that they are primarily to blame for the plight of the people living in Gaza. No decent person can look at the situation without feeling a deep sense of sadness and outrage.
However, Americans should be leery of getting involved in the Middle East once again because our leaders have a long history of failures in that region that have generally made things worse.
Let’s take a hard look at America’s track record in the Middle East, just over the last couple of decades, before allowing our government to run off halfcocked and do something really stupid again.
Iraq
Saddam Hussein, who was the leader of Iraq, was a brutal dictator. But he was also a Sunni Muslim and enemy of the Shia Mullahs in Iran. At one point, Saddam Hussein even kept Iran busy with an eight-year long war. Most people agree that the Shia Clerics who run Iran are the largest sponsors of terrorism in the world. Hamas, Hezbollah, and the various terrorist groups in Syria are among Iran’s beneficiaries. Unfortunately, as part of his response to 9/11, George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq and depose Saddam Hussein, even though Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11. The Iraq war cost the U.S. $1.1 trillion. Hundreds of thousands of people were killed, including 4,492 Americans. And today, Iraq is run by Shia Muslims who are allies with Iran.
Afghanistan
On September 11, 2001, 19 terrorists hijacked four airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. The terrorists were members of al-Qaeda, whose base of operations were in Afghanistan. George W. Bush rightfully vowed to make the terrorists pay a steep price. But he lost focus on al-Qaeda and many escaped, including their leader Osama bin Laden. Instead, W. Bush deposed the Taliban and tried to force western democracy on the tribal peoples of Afghanistan. The Afghan war cost the United States upwards of $2 trillion. As many as 929,000 people were killed including 2,309 U.S. troops. And after 20 years of war, the Taliban is back in charge of Afghanistan once again.
Gaza
Bush also tried to force western “democracy” on Gaza. He coerced Gaza into holding an election in 2006. Israel and the Palestinian Authority objected because they thought Hamas could win. Hamas won 44% of the vote, which was the largest share of any party. But it was not enough to govern. Fatah won the second greatest number of votes. They proposed forming a unity government with Hamas. Instead, Hamas started murdering Fatah politicians. And Hamas has been in control of Gaza ever since.
Libya
Muammar Gaddafi was one of the most notorious state sponsors of terrorism in the world. However, he had a change of heart and was cooperating with the U.S. on anti-terrorism activities at the behest of his western-educated sons who wanted to open Libya’s economy to western trade and investment. But the Obama Administration decided to work with Libyan rebels to depose and kill Gaddafi. Today, Libya is a failed state, where Islamists run open slave markets where black men are bought and sold for about $600 each.
Consequences for Europe and America
The misguided actions taken by American politicians in the Middle East have caused millions of Muslims to migrate to Europe, where they are undermining European culture and stability. And since Joe Biden has been President, tens of thousands of people from the Middle East and North Africa have also entered the U.S. illegally and have been released into the country. No one knows what the long-term consequences of this migration will bring. But to date, the Muslim migrants from the Middle East have not successfully assimilated into European societies. And major issues from riots to an epidemic of gang rapes across Europe have been the result. Prior to his death, even globalist Henry Kissinger stated that it was a huge mistake to allow so many people from a different culture and religion to migrate to the West.
The Bottom Line
As Joe Biden contemplates how to help our ally Israel, he should look hard at the huge mistakes made by his predecessors in the Middle East. Sharing intelligence with Israel is appropriate. Allowing them to buy NATO-grade weapons is also appropriate. But putting American troops on the ground in the Middle East should be out of the question, given our long history of failures in that region and the terrible downstream impact it has caused.